The metal Pickelhaube M1862 (development until 1866)

1862 - Cuirassiers

Since the load for the horses of the cuirassiers seemed too high, great efforts were made in the middle of the 19th century to reduce the weight of the cuirassier equipment. In this context, the cuirassier helmet was also changed, so that on 7.10.1862 a new type M1862 was introduced for enlisted men and officers:

• The changes had no effect on the helmet shell. It stayed almost unchanged.
  

• However, to save weight, the squared front visor and the round rear visor were made slightly smaller. The front visor became somewhat slimmer and was now 6.2 - 7.1 cm high and 19.6 - 21.1 cm wide. The rear visor was reduced in size evenly and kept its shape.
  
• The metal trim around the front visor was reduced from 0.8 - 0.9 cm wide to around 0.5 cm (Fig. 1).
  

Fig. 1: Front visor of a M1862 enlisted man's helmet (Courtesy of Tony Schnurr - Kaisersbunker.com)

• The spike also became slightly smaller, only about 11.0 - 12.0 cm high. The parade eagle, however, kept its shape and dimensions.
  
• The guard star was probably still 14.0 cm high, measured between 13.0 - 14.0 cm. However, I was unable to determine the correct helmet eagle. There are helmets with eagles of 12.5 - 13.0 cm height and the design as on the M1843 (with banner), but there were also helmet eagles used like on the leather helmet M1860 or M1871. These were only 12.0 - 12.5 cm high. Both were attached to the helmet as before by means of 2 threaded pins soldered to the back and square nuts.
  
• The long, protruding ornamental screws used to fasten the chinscales were replaced by steel round-headed slit screws and threaded bushings that no longer protruded so much (Fig. 2).
  
• With the lower height of the helmet, smaller cockades were also introduced, which now had a diameter of 6.0 - 6.5 cm.
  

Fig. 2: M1862 enlisted helmet (Courtesy of Tony Schnurr - Kaisersbunker.com)

Finally, however, these changes only brought a weight reduction of a few grams.